Send Tallahassee a message: Vote 'no' on amendments

OUR VIEW

Sunday

Oct 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM

The 11 amendments on the ballot this year already are confusing and frustrating state voters.

Just vote no. That's our recommendation to voters who will be confronted with 11 state constitutional amendments — and summaries totaling over 2,000 words — on the general election ballot. Send our Legislature, which placed all the proposed constitutional changes on the ballot, a loud and clear message: stop treating the constitution like Play-Doh that can be continually shaped and reshaped. Reject all 11 amendments. Take a stand for a strong, clear constitution, and tell lawmakers to stop pushing key legislative decisions off on the public. Some of the amendments have merit. Amendment 10, for instance, may help small businesses by reducing tangible personal property taxes. Amendment 8, the so-called Religious Freedom amendment, would protect public funding for valuable services provided by faith-based organizations. The public is likely to support Amendment 2, which would expand a property tax exemption for disabled veterans. But voters need to draw the line on government by amendment. We don't need a "living constitution" — a term favored by judicial activists at the federal level — that keeps growing and wrapping itself around policy issues like an out-of-control vine. The U.S. Constitution, perhaps the best blueprint for freedom ever developed, has been amended 27 times since 1789. More than 60 amendments have been added to the Florida Constitution since 1976. From 1976 to 2012, voters have been asked to consider an average of more than seven amendments every general election, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The 11 amendments on the ballot this year already are confusing and frustrating state voters. The League of Women Voters of Florida has received more than 1,000 calls from voters trying to make sense of the amendments, which, in some cases, are accompanied by lengthy summaries that make the matter at issue as clear as mud. It's likely that the long ballot and the wordy amendment questions will cause delays at the polls, where voters will be deciding rather important questions such as who will be the next president of the United States. Attention, voters: The Legislature wants you to decide the momentous question of how to select the student representative on the governingboard of the state university system. Can someone flip a coin and decide this one? Amendment 1 seeks to make a statement against the Affordable Care Act, better known as "Obamacare." Fine. We think Obamacare goes too far and will have some serious unintended consequences. But our view — and approval of Amendment 1 — won't reverse the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the federal government can require Americans to purchase health insurance. What it would do, presumably, is stop the Legislature from implementing a version of Obamacare if Congress should repeal the existing one. There is very little chance the Republican-dominated Legislature will go this route. Amendment 3 is an exceptionally complicated scheme to limit state revenues and effectively prevent lawmakers from approving a large tax increase. We don't favor big tax hikes but we wonder why the current revenue cap, which seems to be working well, needs to be replaced. Further, the Legislature's basic duties involve making decisions on taxes and spending. Why pay state lawmakers and put them up in Tallahassee each year if we're going to restrict their ability to fashion an annual budget? Amendment 4 would add another layer of complexity to the state's property tax system. Florida TaxWatch, a nonpartisan group, believes the amendment would have a positive economic impact, "at least in the short term." However, the group adds, "unintended consequences could have negative long-term economic effects, particularly in the commercial housing market. From a tax policy perspective, the amendment will further convolute an already messy property tax system." Messy, indeed. Every election seems to include ballot initiatives aimed at tinkering with property taxes and creating winners and losers. Thumbs-down on Amendment 4. Voters can look at all the amendments — with summaries in plain English — on The News-Journal's website. Other sources, such as Florida TaxWatch, also provide information on the amendments. We encourage readers to look at the information and reach their own conclusions before casting a ballot. But we believe the Legislature should abandon constitutional amendments as a policy-making tool (legislators should be doing their jobs and not punting issues to voters) and leave most proposed revisions of the constitution to citizen-led ballot initiatives. This would dramatically slow the government-by-amendment trend but leave room for needed changes related to individual rights and the structure of government. Let lawmakers know you're disturbed by the barrage of confusing amendments, and that you want them to clarify and simplify the functions of government. Send them a message: Vote "no" on all 11 amendments.

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